Bheeshma arranged his side in the Mandala formation. It was a mighty formation, with thousands of soldiers armed and ready to take on the enemy. Seeing this, Yudhishtira arranged the Vajra vyuha to break through Bheeshma’s formation.
The battle started, and Drona took on Virata, while Ashwatthama attacked Shikhandi. Duryodhana fought with Drupada, while Sahadeva fought with Shalya. Iravan, the son of Arjuna and Uloopi fought with Vinda and Anuvinda. Bheema took on Kritavarma, while Abhimanyu once again fought with Chitrasena, Vikarna, and Durmarshana.
![File:Arjuna blows conch.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Arjuna_blows_conch.jpg/134px-Arjuna_blows_conch.jpg)
Ghatotkacha fought with Bhagadatta while Alambusha fought with Satyaki. The Kaurava soldiers surrounded Arjuna and attacked him with assorted weapons. The angry Arjuna showered arrows on all of them. When they began to attack Krishna, an angry Arjuna invoked the Aindra weapon. The mighty astra caused a shower of arrows from the sky.
The shower of arrows brutally cut thousands of Kauravas down, and they ran in fear to Bheeshma. Arjuna then had to face the wrath of Bheeshma. Drona had a fierce fight with Virata and destroyed his chariot. Virata then climbed on to his son Shanka’s chariot. Drona then shot a sharp arrow that struck Shanka on his chest and killed him. Virata fled from there in fear.
Ashwatthama found with Shikhandi and injured him severely, causing him to flee. Satyaki fought with the rakshasa Alambusha. The demon caused a shower of arrows, but Satyaki destroyed them all using the Aindra astra. Unable to take on the mighty weapon of Indra, Alambusha fled.
Dhristadyumna fought with Duryodhana, and both warriors hurled arrows at each other. Duryodhana’s horses were killed and his bow broken. He then took out his sword and charged towards Dhrishtadyumna, but Shakuni took him away even as Dhrishtadyumna slaughtered the Kaurava soldiers.
Kritavarma took on Bheema, but his charioteer and horses were killed by the mighty Pandava. After being severely injured, Kritavarma fled and Bheema massacred the Kaurava army.
The Avanti kings Vinda and Anuvinda fought with Iravan. The son of Arjuna destroyed Anuvinda’s chariot, and he was forced to climb into Vinda’s chariot. When Iravan killed their charioteer, the horses fled in panic.
![File:Ghatotkacha in a chariot.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Ghatotkacha_in_a_chariot.jpg/243px-Ghatotkacha_in_a_chariot.jpg)
Ghatotkacha fought with Bhagadatta, who resembled Indra on Airavata. The two fought fiercely with neither ready to give an advantage to the other. Bhagadatta hurled fourteen javelins, but not only did Ghatotkacha break them all, he hit Bhagadatta with seventy arrows.
The Pragjyotisha king then killed the horses in Ghatotakcha’s chariot and broke the golden lance the son of Bheema hurled at him. With no option left, Ghatotkacha fled from the battlefield.
Shalya fought with his nephews Nakula and Sahadeva. A sharp arrow shot by Sahadeva struck Shalya on the chest, causing him to faint, and his charioteer took him away to safety. Yudhishtira attacked Shrutayu who struck the Pandava king on his chest.
An angry Yudhishtira launched such a terrible attack that Shrutayu fled from the spot. Chekitana fought with Kripa. When his bow was destroyed, Chekitana hurled a mace that Kripa broke. They then fought with swords. They both struck each other so terribly that both of them fell and were taken away by kings from their side.
Bhurishravas defeated Dhrishtaketu, making him flee. Abhimanyu again fought with Chitrasena, Durmukha, and Vikarna and easily defeated them, but he did not kill them to ensure his uncle Bhima’s vow was fulfilled.
Arjuna attacked Bheeshma, but had to face Susharma and his army. Arjuna slaughtered the Triagarta army. Soon the fight became intense with Yudhishtira, Bheema, and the twins joining Arjuna. Shikhandi fought with Shalya while Bheema fought with Jayadratha.
Bheeshma soon defeated Yudhishtira and destroyed his chariot. He avoided Shikhandi and killed the Srinjaya soldiers. Yudhishtira fought with Vinda and Anuvinda. The battle was fought fiercely with rivulets of blood flowing from the battlefield. The sun soon set behind the mountains and both the sides retired to their camps.